Investigating Health & Safety Incidents
Health & safety incidents can be the result of genuine mistakes or plain bad luck, but they can also be a consequence of shortfalls in our systems for managing health & safety.
Following up incidents with investigation ensures that we explore this possibility and catch issues at the soonest opportunity. Positive improvements can be made to prevent similar incidents from happening again, or developing into more serious problems over time which could even have wider consequences across the university.
A robust and consistent investigation process is needed to keep high standards of safety, health & welfare at the university.
All incidents that are work-related and/or occur on university controlled premises must be followed up with some degree of investigation.
In some cases it may be straightforward, for example:
- Confirming that first aid provisions were available & adequate at the time
- Confirming that the correct procedure was followed in response to the foreseeable incident (e.g. evacuation protocols; chemical spillage management protocols)
- Confirming that a work order has been arranged to resolve facilities maintenance issues
In other cases the circumstances may be more complex and point towards underlying failures in health & safety management. In these situations, a deeper review is required.
The scope and depth of an investigation depends on the nature and severity of the health & safety incident.
- When an incident is more serious, and associated with obvious shortfalls in health & safety management processes, then a more thorough investigation is warranted.
- When an incident is less serious, and significant gaps in health & safety management processes are not apparent, then a more straightforward approach is sufficient.
Categorising severity of incidents
The Investigation Categories (PDF 
, 45kb) set out the framework for sorting health & safety incidents by nature & severity. The lower the investigation category, the more serious the incident and the greater need for a more comprehensive investigation (as a general rule).
Sorting incidents into investigation categories is also the first step to determine the investigation process to be followed - please see the next section for further information.
The Investigation Process Flowchart (PDF , 52kb) illustrates the route of incident investigation, outlining:
- Sorting incidents into investigation categories
- Persons responsible for coordinating the investigation
- Timescales for completing steps throughout the process
- How investigation outcomes should be communicated within the organisation
| Investigation category | Investigation coordinator |
|---|---|
| 1 | Health & Safety Business Partner |
| 2-4 | Departmental Safety Advisor responsible for the workplace or premises in which the incident occurred |
In most cases, the investigation coordinator will be competent to conduct the practical elements of the investigation (gathering & analysing evidence).
In some cases, an incident can involve more specialist work activities and be much more complex in nature. In these cases, it would be appropriate to enlist the help of colleagues who oversee these specialist areas, and have the relevant expertise, to ensure the practical elements of investigation are done properly.
In any case, it will be the investigation coordinator who collates & records the information, creates the corrective action plan and finalises the investigation.
Training
All investigation coordinators must complete Health & Safety Investigation Training, which is delivered by the university central health & safety team. This training module is part of the training programme for all Departmental Safety Advisors.
Guidance
GUIDANCE - Incident Investigation (PDF , 146kb) is also available, which outlines how to conduct an investigation with a consistent approach.
Start Point
An investigation should be started by the investigation coordinator as soon as possible once they have been formally notified of the SOLAR report.
End Point
The target timescale for completion of an investigation is 30 working days after the date on which the SOLAR report was submitted.
Formal Investigation Report
A formal investigation report may be required, depending on the nature & severity of the health & safety incident.
The following guidelines should be applied:
| Investigation category | Reporting requirements |
|---|---|
| 1 | A formal investigation report is mandatory in every case. |
| 2 | A formal investigation report will be required in most cases. |
| 3-4 | A formal investigation report will not be required in most cases. |
Investigation coordinators should make a judgement call, using the guidance provided, on whether a formal investigation report should be used.
Populating the SOLAR report case
When a formal investigation report has been used, the comments section of the SOLAR report case should simply be populated with the following:
- Reference name of the investigation report file
- Storage location of the investigation report file
When a formal investigation report is not required, the comments section of the SOLAR report case should always be populated with the following information:
- Any other useful factual information about the event ascertained e.g. immediate actions & responses that happened
- Any obvious issues which were identified
- Any follow up actions that have been arranged and completed
Closing out the SOLAR report case
Once the comments section has been populated, the user should always complete the following steps to finalise the SOLAR case:
- Add initials and date to the comments section, to sign off completion
- Changing the record status of the SOLAR case to 'investigation completed'
Naming of reports
Firstly, the investigation report must be given a unique file name in a consistent format that complies with data protection rules. The file name should simply be the SOLAR reference number and date of publication (e.g. ‘SOLAR 3274_1st Nov 2024’).
Record storage
The university central health & safety office will keep a record of every formal investigation report that is made in the central drive. The investigation coordinator should send a copy of the final version of the report in PDF format by email to WHSO
It is also the responsibility of the investigation coordinator to keep records of formal investigation reports and associated evidence in their department operations shared drive.
Electronic filing systems should be well-organised and documents readily accessible for review.
The university central health & safety office should be notified of any of the following circumstances following an incident:
- A work absence between 3 and 7 days
- A work absence over 7 days
- A high chance of an insurance claim related to the incident
The notification should be made at the earliest opportunity by email to WHSO